Nonstop flight route between Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Henderson Field (MDY), Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,749 miles (or 2,814 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Henderson Field and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Henderson Field (MDY):

• The furthest airport from Henderson Field (MDY) is Lüderitz Airport (LUD), which is located 11,656 miles (18,759 kilometers) away in Luderitz, Namibia.
• Henderson Field is a public airport located on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
• Henderson Field is an uncontrolled airport.
• The closest airport to Henderson Field (MDY) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 937 miles (1,508 kilometers) SE of MDY.
• The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flghts to and from Honolulu utilizing a Boeing 737-200 jetliner.
• Because of Henderson Field's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Henderson Field at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Henderson Field (MDY) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.